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The anal wink or anocutaneous reflex is the reflexive contraction of the external anal sphincter upon stroking of the skin around the anus.
The absence of this reflex indicates that there is an interruption of the reflex arc, which may be in the sensory afferent limb or the motor efferent limb. The synapse between the afferent and efferent limbs occurs in the lowest sacral segments of the spinal cord.
Child abuse controversy
Dr. Bruce Woodling developed the anal wink test which he alleged was an indisputable diagnostic indicator that a child had been sodomised. In a clinical setting, he would spread a child’s buttocks and touch the anus with a cotton swab. If the anus "winked", Woodling testified, this was "proof of sodomy". His testimony was prominent in the McMartin preschool child abuse case.
It has since been established that Woodling never made any effort to validate his test, and it has been utterly discredited.
Woodling's pseudoscientific testimony contributed to Ray Buckley spending five years in remand prison. Buckley was later released without conviction.
See also
External links
- Testimony by Dr. Bruce Woodling — Expert testimony in McMartin Child Abuse Case.
- The Satan Sellers — Article about child sexual abuse hysteria, and the "anal wink" test.
- False allegations of child abuse — Expert opinion on false allegations of child abuse, with mention of "anal wink" testimony.
"Anal wink"